Energy market “broken” and crisis could “worsen”

The UK’s energy market is “broken” and needs fixing “urgently” say the bosses of a consumer body and a business group who today sent a letter to regulators demanding “radical changes”. Addressed to the chief executives of Ofgem, the Office for Fair Trading and the Competition and Markets Authority, the letter warns the “crisis” that […]

OFT chief takes up DECC post

The Chief Executive of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been appointed as Director General of DECC’s Consumers and Households Group. Clive Maxwell will be responsible for the Government’s key projects in improving energy efficiency and helping households and businesses cut their bills. He will take up his role starting 24th February and has […]

Ofgem and OFT to conduct energy market competition review

A review into the energy market to see how well competition in the gas and electricity sectors are serving the interests of householders and small businesses has been launched. Regulator Ofgem, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), a non-Ministerial government department, have published a framework which will be […]

32,000 call to further investigate UK oil market fixing

A national campaign group in support of keeping petrol prices down called on the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to launch another inquiry into the scandalous oil price fixing allegations that came to light earlier this year. FairFuelUK along with MPs handed in a 32,000-name petition to the OFT yesterday calling for a full and […]

Oil market urgently needs ‘official watchdog with teeth’

The oil market urgently needs an “official watchdog with teeth” to ensure there is no market manipulation and UK families and businesses pay a fair price for fuel. That’s the suggestion from Quentin Willson, Campaign Leader of FairFuelUK, in response to the recent revelation over alleged price collusion, which led to BP and Shell offices […]

Junk mail trashes ‘green’ goals

Junk mails and cold calls from UK businesses are turning people off energy efficiency measures such as the Green Deal. That’s according to the Energy Saving Trust (EST), which found a third of households in the UK are receiving “irrelevant” marketing information everyday and 80% are receiving them at least once a week. The social […]

UK drivers ‘bitterly disappointed’ by road fuel report

Consumers in the UK will be “bitterly disappointed” that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will not be launching a full-scale review of petrol and diesel pricing in the UK. That’s the view of fuel poverty campaigners and those in the automotive industry, which follows new evidence suggesting there are no problems with competition in […]

UK road fuel market ‘working well’, says watchdog

The UK road fuel sector is “working well” and the rise in petrol and diesel prices have been caused by higher crude oil prices and increases in tax – not a lack of competition. New evidence from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) suggests competition is working “relatively effectively” at a national level and that […]

OFT tells off naughty efficiency firms

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has written to more than 50 of the UK’s biggest installers of energy efficiency equipment about keeping standards high after its review of the sector found instances of “poor practice”. The OFT discovered poor quality installations in places, as well as businesses using high pressure sales techniques or giving […]

Traders using ‘wrong’ insulation says OFT

Some traders are installing the wrong insulation in homes with “inappropriate materials”, according to the Office for Fair Trading (OFT). The OFT says the Government must improve consumer protection, as it carried out the research after a high level of consumer complaints about home insulation. They received complaints that some traders are not always installing […]